Casualties of the Coming War
by VoicesOffCamera
Summary: In hindsight, the signs were all there. Maybe if they had just paid more attention they could have been more careful. Probably not, but looking back at the events that had unfolded that night they all wished they hadn't had to learn this lesson the hard way. For this lesson may very well cost one of the Marauders his life.
1. Chapter 1

**[Author's Note:] Please note that this is going to be a short novella with probably only three or four chapters. And please review each chapter and let me know what you think! Also know that I do not own the Harry Potter universe, nor do I pretend to. I'm simply playing in the sandbox. Happy reading!**

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><p><strong>Chapter One<strong>

When reality finally hit the Marauders of Hogwarts, it hit hard.

It was during the Marauder's sixth year that they really began to understand what was happening in the world. Remus was the only one who kept up with the papers, but he had learned years ago that trying to discuss current events at the breakfast table with the other three Marauders still half asleep was a fruitless endeavor. There were rumors that were whispered in the hallways but the Marauders were always too busy planning pranks to really pay much attention. It was easy to overlook the problems of the outside world when they felt so safe behind the walls of their school.

In hindsight, the signs were all there. Maybe if they had just paid more attention they could have been more careful. Probably not, but looking back at the events that had unfolded that night they all wished they hadn't had to learn this lesson the hard way.

It had been James' idea. It was a dull Saturday in early October when he had announced to the other three that the Marauders would be making their own trip to Hogsmeade since the previous trip had been cancelled by the school for some vague reason about unrest among the residents of the wizard town. Although it was strange for the Headmaster to cancel a Hogsmeade trip, it wasn't unusual for these boys to make the trip on their own. More and more the Marauders as a group had grown bored of going to Hogsmeade with the rest of the school and had begun skipping the trips anyway. Instead they had their own trips to Hogsmeade which they all found to be much more exciting. Even Remus would enjoy these trips even as he would try and pretend to object since he was a prefect.

They were able to discreetly escape the castle through the corridor hidden behind the one-eyed witch statue. They raced down the underground tunnel, playfully pushing each other out of the way in an effort to be first. When they reached the end James used his Invisibility Cloak to make sure the coast was clear – they had long ago outgrown being able to put more than one of them under the Cloak at a time – and when he gave the signal the other three scurried up through the basement of Honeydukes.

Despite the fact that it wasn't a weekend when the Hogwarts students were allowed in to town, Hogsmeade was still particularly busy. The four boys were able to lose themselves in the crowd and avoid the Honeydukes shop owner who had taken to threatening to report them to Headmaster Dumbledore one day when they made too much of a ruckus in his store. Most of the other shop owners turned the other cheek when they saw the highly recognizable trouble makers in town when they weren't supposed to be, probably because Sirius and James usually made it worth their while with their purchases.

They spent hours in Zonko's joke shop checking out new merchandise and stocking up on dungbombs and sugar quills and the like. Then they headed over to Spintwitches so that Sirius and James could look at the newest Quiddich gear, though neither of them ended up making any purchases. Next they stopped in to the Three Broomsticks for some butterbeer. They stirred up quite a ruckus with their horsing around, but the owner of the Inn, Madam Rosmerta, only smiled and laughed along with them. Overall it was a very normal day with nothing out of the ordinary to cause concern.

As they left the Three Broomsticks Madam Rosmerta made a comment about how they should head back to the castle before it got dark, but they all brushed her off, unconcerned. Dusk was just falling and they were walking lazily up the street when Sirius suddenly cursed loudly. "I think I left my Zonko's bag in The Three Broomsticks," he said, looking down at his empty hand where the bag with his purchases should have been.

Remus rolled his eyes at him. "You're always losing something, mate," he pointed out. "I think we ought to start using permanent sticking charms to keep you from misplacing things."

Sirius gave him a playful shove. "I'm going to go look for it. I spent too much of my parents' hard earned, Pureblooded money on dungbombs to let that go to waste without wreaking havoc on some Slytherins!" He laughed as he spun on his heels.

"You want me to go with you?" James asked casually.

"No, I'll only be a minute," Sirius said, flashing his friend a grin. "I'll meet you lot up at the Shrieking Shack." And with that he took off at a jog back in the direction they had come from, disappearing around a corner in a matter of moments.

Without giving the situation a second thought James, Remus and Peter continued on their leisurely stroll down the street, discussing possible pranks they might pull with their new stash from Zonko's. They made it up to the Shrieking Shack and sat on the fence as they poked fun at the rumors about the place they had heard over the years, knowing what really went on there.

"You'd think someone would have worked it out by now," James commented lazily. "Even if you only half pay attention you'd notice that it's only active during the full moon."

Remus playfully swiped at him as if trying to push him off the railing. "No one likes to think that they have a werewolf in their backyard," he pointed out with a laugh.

"Try having one in your dormitory," James laughed.

Remus made a face at him, but couldn't keep the laughter out of his eyes. It had taken a while to become as comfortable with his condition as he was now, but James, Sirius and Peter had helped him come a long way. They poked fun at Remus' lycanthropy the same way they would poke fun at Sirius' knack for losing things, James' obsession with Lily Evans, or Peter's lack of academic smarts. It was normal for them to act this way and to laugh off flaws in each other.

"Sirius sure is taking his time," Peter observed, glancing back down the path they had come up to find it empty still. They had been sitting on the fence for about twenty minutes now and he still had not shown up.

"I knew it was a bad idea to let him go on his own," James sighed, shaking his head like an annoyed parent. "He always gets distracted. He's probably trying to flirt with Madam Rosmerta again."

"Reckon we ought to reel him in before she kicks us out?" Remus mused.

James slid off of the fence, landing lightly on his feet. "I reckon that's a good idea. Wouldn't want to be banned from The Three Broomsticks like we were banned from Honeydukes."

Remus followed suit as did Peter, though admittedly less gracefully.

Remus looked up at darkening the sky. "We should probably head back soon anyway," he said. "It's getting late."

"Yes, Mr. _Prefect_," James drawled with a lazy wave of his hand by way of dismissal.

They all trooped back down the pathway toward town. The mood was light as they wandered back to the inn at a casual pace. James was the first to the door, pushing through it fully expecting to see his best friend in the pub. He stopped short. The place was completely deserted. He was looking around curiously as Remus and Peter came up behind him.

"Where did everyone go?" Peter wondered out loud.

"I don't know," James said as he gazed around. It was hard to explain why, but suddenly there was an uneasy feeling creeping up into his stomach. Something just didn't feel right. It was a Saturday night; the inn should have at least some people around. He had never seen it deserted like this before.

"I'm going to check upstairs," Remus said, tension in his voice. Clearly he felt it too. He disappeared up the stairs as James and Peter wandered around to examine the pub area. Nothing looked out of place. Everything was cleaned up and put away as if they were closed for the night. But even though it was dark out now it was still awful early for the pub to close. They heard footsteps as Remus descended back down the stairs, alone. "Madam Rosmerta's door was locked and there was no answer when I knocked."

"That's odd," James observed.

"Maybe she had to go out and run an errand?" Peter guessed.

"Maybe…" James mused, though he wasn't convinced.

"That doesn't explain where Sirius went though," Remus pointed out with concern as he rejoined the group.

"Maybe he went to the Shrieking Shack like he said and we just missed him," Peter said hopefully.

"Not likely," James said. "We took the shortest path from there to here. We would have seen him unless he took a very round about route."

"Perhaps he didn't find his bag here and he continued to retrace his steps," Remus said.

"That still wouldn't have taken him this long," James said uneasily.

"It's worth a try though," Remus insisted. "It's the only logical theory we have right now."

"Yeah, you're right," James admitted. "Come on. Let's go check Spintwitches and Zonko's."

The three boys turned and made their way back out onto the street. As they started toward the sporting shop they couldn't help but notice that the entire street suddenly seemed deserted as well. They didn't pass one other soul as they walked. The streetlamps glowed dully but the area somehow seemed darker than usual, like there were fewer lights coming from the surrounding buildings. They reached Spintwitches to find that the shop was dark and the door was locked.

"Something's not right," Remus said in a low voice as he looked around nervously.

"Can't argue with you there," James agreed. On an instinct he checked to make sure his wand was still securely in his back pocket within easy reach.

"Maybe we should just go back," Peter said anxiously.

"We're not leaving without Sirius," James said firmly as he started toward Zonko's, even though they could see it from where they stood and could already tell it was just as deserted as the rest of the street.

"Yeah but maybe he went back already," Peter tried even as he followed James, Remus falling into step behind them. "Maybe he saw everyone leaving and he decided to leave too."

James immediately shook his head. "He would have never left without telling us," he insisted, dismissing Peter's flawed logic without a second thought.

"James," Remus said suddenly. James turned to find that Remus had veered off slightly and was crouching in the opening of a nearby alley. James immediately hurried over in time to see him picking up a bag with the Zonko's logo printed on the side of it. "It's Sirius' bag," he said with certainty as he looked at the contents.

James stared at it for a moment before his eyes slowly wandered to the alley in front of him. They could see no more than a few meters into the space, darkness overtaking where the streetlights couldn't reach. James pulled his wand out of his pocket. "_Lumos_," he muttered, watching the light spring from the end of his wand. He glanced back at his companions, noting how Remus already had his wand out as well. "Let's go."

Keeping close together they all moved into the alley. They were all tense, unsure what to expect as they moved along. With every step the light from James' wand lit another darkened space and each time they all somehow expected to find some kind of horrific scene. But as they walked all they found was more empty space. That did nothing to ease their fears though. Something was clearly very wrong here.

The alleyway was quickly narrowing as they moved further down it. Eventually they were forced to walk in a single file line with James in the front and Peter in the back. As they reached the end James slowed, holding a hand up behind him to slow the others as well. He could just hear the murmur of voices from beyond the end of the alley.

Trusting his instincts he put out the light at the end of his wand as he slowly began creeping forward, running his hand along the brick wall of the alley to keep from bumping in to anything. Unfortunately Peter didn't have that same thought and a moment later he bumped into some abandoned rubbish bins. They clattered for a second, but both James and Remus quickly moved to silence them. James went to glare at Peter but had to remind himself he probably couldn't see it because of the darkness.

The voices had stopped abruptly at the noise and James froze in place, waiting for someone to burst into the alley. But everything was still.

"Did you hear that?" They could just hear the sound of a woman's voice drifting toward them in the silence.

"It was probably a cat or something," a deep male voice answered.

"We need to hurry up," the woman's voice went on. "We cannot get caught or the message will be diminished. If we get caught right in Dumbledore's backyard the Dark Lord will not be happy."

"I need more time," a third male voice mumbled. "This boy needs to pay for what he did to my face."

At this James started creeping forward again. He reached the end of the alley and carefully peaked around the corner. The alley opened up onto a street lined with small townhouses, all darkened looking almost abandoned. In the middle of the street stood three people dressed in dark robes with the hoods drawn up over their faces. James studied the figures, but it was hard to tell anything about them. They were all circled around something. James let his gaze fall down to the heap that lay at their feet.

The latter man who had spoken pointed his wand down at the heap. "_Crucio_!"

The heap on the ground screamed out in pure agony and James felt all the color drain from his face as he recognized the voice despite how horribly distorted it was in that moment. He didn't remember making a decision to move but suddenly he had whipped out of the alley and into open space, his wand held high. "_Stupefy_!"

Caught completely by surprise, the curse hit the man square in the back, sending him crumpling to the ground. The other two whipped around, wands at the ready.

"Oh, you are going to regret that, _boy_," the woman spat.

"No, I don't think he will." Remus had appeared at James' side, his wand up as well. His voice was practically a growl. "Now get away from him." James had never heard Remus sound so commanding before, as if he were years older than the people in front of them instead of just sixteen.

James tightened his grip on his wand as he watched the man and woman in front of them sizing them up. Even Peter had emerged from the alley, though he stood a step behind where James and Remus stood. That gave them the superior numbers with one of the others still incapacitated by James' spell.

"Let's go, we have done our damage," the man announced.

From under her hood James could just barely detect a grin from the woman. "Tell Dumbledore the Dark Lord says hello!"

And with that the group Apparated, taking their third member with them. For a moment everything was still, as the boys were all a bit concerned that it was a trap of some sort and they were going to reappear and attack. But they didn't.

Remus was the first to move. He ran forward and fell to his knees next to the figure that lay crumpled on the ground. Peter took a few steps forward and then hesitated, looking back at James unsurely. James was rooted to the spot. He knew he should run forward, he knew that he needed to see the damage, but somehow he just couldn't.

Remus hit the ground hard but he hardly noticed the pain that radiated through his kneecaps. The figure was laying on his side with his back to him, protectively curled in on himself. Remus carefully rolled him over, feeling sick to his stomach. What he revealed was what they had all already guessed. It was Sirius. His clothes were tattered and he had blood on his face, his neck, his chest and his arms. Remus gasped out loud at the gruesome sight.

"Sirius?" Remus said gently. Sirius' eyes were closed and his muscles were limp. "Sirius, can you hear me?" No response. Remus raised his gaze and looked over at Peter and James. "Peter, James, get over here."

Peter immediately scurried into action at the command. He fell to Remus' side, his eyes wide and his face pale. "Is he…?" he squeaked.

"He's alive, we have to stop some of this blood flow," Remus said tensely. He conjured some bandages with a quick wave of his wand. "Here. Put some pressure on his chest." He indicated a particularly deep gash that ran diagonally across Sirius' chest. Peter immediately did as he was told. Remus looked up and was frustrated to find that James still hadn't moved. "James." James only stared vacantly, clearly in some kind of shock. "_James_! Come over here and help!" Remus' sharp tone finally seemed to break through to him and he mechanically moved forward.

James stopped next to them and looked down at the scene in horror. "What is this?" he whispered. "Why did this happen? Who would do this?"

"I don't know," Remus said. "We'll figure that out later. We need to get him out of here."

James very suddenly dropped to his knees, looking intently at one of Sirius' arms. He reached down and carefully picked it up as Remus and Peter watched. The sleeve of Sirius' white dress shirt had been shredded away below his elbow and the arm was covered in small cuts. James tilted it so they could see what he had found. At first Remus couldn't tell for the life of him what he was trying to indicate. Then he realized that the cuts on Sirius' forearm seemed to form a very deliberate pattern. The more he stared the more he thought he could make out letters.

"_Toujours pur_," James read.

"Isn't that Sirius' family motto?" Peter said, shock in his voice.

"Yeah. Always pure," James translated.

Remus' eyes fell to Sirius' other arm where his sleeve had also been ripped away in much the same manner. He slowly picked it up as he studied the lacerations, now trying to make something of it. These cuts were deeper than the ones on his other arm and Remus had to wipe away some of the blood to be able to read it. "Blood traitor," he read finally.

"You think this has something to do with his family?" James asked in disbelief. It wasn't a secret that Sirius didn't get along with his parents and didn't agree with what he described as their "Pureblood mania." He had gotten at least one Howler a year on the subject since their first year at Hogwarts when he had been Sorted into Gryffindor. But even so this seemed horribly extreme for something like a family grudge.

No one got the chance to answer. Sirius stirred just then, letting out a light moan as he started coming back around.

"Sirius?" Remus said quickly, leaning down closer.

Sirius made a mumbled noise as his eyes slowly blinked open and he looked around blearily. "Hey," he rasped.

"Hey, Padfoot," James said, relief on his face at the sight of Sirius regaining consciousness. "Stay still, okay? You're going to be alright."

"Should one of us go get help?" Peter asked.

"There's going to be no help in town," Remus said, looking at James and Peter. "We need to get him back to school."

"Should we really move him?" James asked worriedly, looking down at his friend's broken form.

"It'll take too long for one of us to run back, find someone in the castle and then bring them back here," Remus insisted. "He's losing a lot of blood and who knows if those people will come back with reinforcements looking for another fight."

"Yeah, you're right," James agreed reluctantly.

"Come on, help me lift him," Remus said.

Peter stepped back as James and Remus each took one of Sirius' shoulders and slowly pulled him up into a sitting position. At the motion Sirius yelp in pain, squeezing his eyes shut and gasping in air. James and Remus exchanged worried looks.

"Sirius?" James said slowly.

"'M okay," Sirius murmured. His breathing was suddenly labored and his features were lined with pain.

"Just hang in there, okay?" James said.

Sirius only nodded vaguely, his eyes still closed. Working together James and Remus lifted Sirius to his feet, trying to ignore his hissed protests. They each slung one of Sirius' arms over their shoulder, holding him securely between them.

"Peter, light the way," James instructed, finally feeling the fog clearing from his head so that he could think a little more clearly.

Peter scurried ahead as he lit his wand. Working together Remus and James carried Sirius back toward the alleyway they had come from in order to get back to the main street. Sirius hung between them like dead weight. James would have thought that he had fallen unconscious again if it weren't for the pained moans that escaped his throat every so often.

James glanced behind them just before they entered the alleyway and couldn't help but notice that they had left a trail of blood that was dripping from Sirius' open wounds that led back to a pool of blood staining the pavement where Sirius had lay. He was losing blood very quickly. There was a sick feeling that had settled in the pit of James' stomach. If they didn't get Sirius help soon he wasn't going to make it. That fact was painfully obvious.

The group moved very awkwardly back down the cramped alleyway. At one point Remus bumped into the wall, jarring Sirius suddenly and causing him to cry out sharply in pain.

"Sorry, sorry," Remus said quickly.

"Come on, we have to keep moving," James encouraged tensely.

They continued until they came out the other side of the alley and back out onto the main street. It was just as deserted as it was when they had left it about twenty minutes before. They were moving back toward Honeydukes when Sirius suddenly made a strange choked noise. James could feel him suddenly grip the back of his shirt tightly. Then he coughed roughly, sending tremors throughout his whole body, suddenly spitting up blood.

Remus looked over, paling at the sight. "There's blood in his lungs," he said softly, observing the blood now dripping off of his chin.

"What does that mean?" James asked quickly.

"It means we have to move faster," Remus said.

They picked up the pace slightly, but it was hard to do with Sirius' dead weight hanging between them. Finally they approached Honeydukes, finding the store darkened like all the rest.

Peter hurried up to the door, pulling on it to find that it held fast. "It's locked," he said, announcing the obvious.

"Well then unlock it!" James said a little more harshly than he had meant to.

Peter pointed his wand at the lock but his hand was shaking like crazy. "A… Alo… Aloh…" he stammered.

"Oh for crying out loud, Peter!" James spat impatiently. They didn't have time for this. He ducked out from under Sirius' arm, leaving Remus to support his full weight as he moved forward toward the door, pushing Peter out of the way. He didn't even bother with his wand, assuming that the store probably would have some kind of security charm against the simple unlocking spell anyway. Instead he took a running start and kicked out against the door as hard as he could. The glass panel in the door shattered loudly on impact. He carefully cleared away any sharp edges that had still clung in the frame. He turned back to Remus who was looking at him a bit like he thought that he had lost his mind. "Come on."

James ducked through the doorway first. Remus moved forward with Peter's help to support Sirius. As carefully as they could they handed Sirius through the gap in the door to James who stood on the other side. It was an awkward process that didn't spare Sirius any pain as he groaned with the effort. He seemed to try and stand on his own for a moment but his knees quickly buckled and he fell against James.

"Hurry," James urged as both Peter and Remus scrambled through the door.

As Remus moved to help support Sirius again he coughed up more blood, a bit more forcefully this time. James also noticed his grip was weakening. They were running out of time and they still had a ways to go to get him back to the castle. James quickly went over their options in his head even as they started moving toward the stairs that would take them down to the basement.

"Peter, you run ahead," James ordered as they approached the trap door. "Find the first teacher that you can and bring them to find us on the route from the one-eyed witch statue to the infirmary."

"Okay," Peter squeaked. He pulled open the trap door and quickly disappeared.

It wasn't ideal; Peter was by far the slowest among them. But he was also too short to properly help support Sirius so there was nothing more to do about it.

James and Remus slowly made their way down through the trapdoor and in to the secret passage that would lead them back to school. It was a narrow passage which slowed their progress considerably. Finally after several long minutes the end of the passage was in sight.

"Hang in there, Sirius," James panted, the effort of carrying his best friend starting to wear on him. "We're almost there." There was no response. He glanced over at Sirius to find that his head was hanging limply on his shoulders. "Sirius?"

"Just keep moving, James," Remus said tensely. James hadn't even realized he had slowed his pace upon finding that Sirius had lost all consciousness.

James pushed any morbid thoughts out of his head as they pushed forward. Finally at long last they made it to the end of the passage. Remus climbed out of the passage first through the one-eyed witch statue and then reached back down to pull Sirius through. James clamored up after them. They were quickly running out of time. That much was clear. Hurriedly they got themselves situated with Sirius between them again and started for the Hospital Wing as quickly as they could.

The corridors were darkened at the late hour and when they first spotted the figures moving in to the far end of the corridor and moving toward them it was hard to figure out who it was. It wasn't until they heard the familiar shrill voice that they realized Peter had actually completed his task.

"Potter! Lupin! What is the meaning of this?" Professor McGonagall sounded just like she did when she scolded them in class. Clearly Peter hadn't been able to convey the reality of the situation to her yet. It wasn't until she got closer and waved her wand to light more of the corridor that she seemed to realize the severity of what she had come upon. She stopped in her tracks and visibly paled at the sight of them, Peter skidding to a halt behind her. As a group, they must look a wreck.

"It's Sirius, Professor," Remus said breathlessly. They didn't break stride. "He's losing blood quickly and he lost consciousness about ten minutes ago."

McGonagall quickly remembered herself as she started moving with them. Without asking for any further explanation she moved closer to them began waving her wand in a complicated formation toward Sirius, murmuring an incantation under her breath. None of them bothered to ask what they were doing. They just kept moving toward the infirmary, knowing that their friend's life depended on getting him medical attention.

If it wasn't too late already…


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter Two**

At long last they made it to the Hospital Wing. Peter pushed the doors open for them and Remus and James made for the closest bed. Between her incantations that the boys would later learn were to slow Sirius' blood loss, Professor McGonagall was shouting for Madam Pomfrey to hurry over as the two boys lowered the third onto the bed. The white sheets stained with red the moment he touched them.

Remus leaned forward, putting a hand in front of Sirius' nose and mouth. "He… he's not breathing," he said quietly, his eyes wide. Despite the soft tone of his voice the statement seemed to ring out clearly throughout the entire Hospital Wing.

It was like the whole world had fallen out from under them.

James and Remus were quickly swept out of the way by Madam Pomfrey and Professor McGonagall. They stumbled backwards to join Peter, all three of them staring at the scene with mirrored expressions of disbelief and horror. Madam Pomfrey was frantically waving her wand over Sirius' chest, murmuring under her breath. A moment later Sirius' muscles suddenly contracted and he began violently coughing up blood in a gruesome display, though his eyes remained closed the entire time. Madam Pomfrey waved her wand behind her without looking back, causing curtains to appear and surround the bed, blocking it as well as her and Professor McGonagall from sight.

"Remus?" came a quiet, feminine voice. They all turned to see that Lily Evans had approached them. It was then that they realized they weren't alone in the Hospital Wing. A quick survey revealed that there were several other students in various beds around the wing, all staring at them. "What's happened?" There was a hint of fear in her voice. It had been obvious how bad off Sirius had been when they dragged him in to the Wing.

Remus opened his mouth to respond but no words came out. His mind couldn't even complete a thought at the moment. He closed his mouth again and turned his back to Lily as he made his way over to a nearby vacant bed. He sat down heavily, his legs unable to hold him up any longer.

Lily watched Remus' movements with wide eyes. As it became clear that she wasn't going to get any information from her usual source within the Marauders her gaze carefully shifted to fall on James instead.

James sighed heavily. He knew there was no reason to lie at this point. "We were in Hogsmeade tonight. Sirius was attached by a group of hooded wizards." It was physically impossible for him to go into any more detail than that at the moment. Not with Sirius' fate still so uncertain. His eyes wandered back to the curtains that hid Sirius' bed. It was unnervingly quiet all of a sudden.

At James' statement Lily gasped, drawing James' gaze back to her. She looked horrified. "You were in Hogsmeade? Potter, that's so dangerous with everything that has been happening."

James just stared at her blankly at that, unable to even begin to comprehend what she was trying to say. Neither of them had a chance to say anything else though. Just then there was movement in the curtain and James snapped his gaze back to the scene in front of him. Professor McGonagall appeared from behind the curtain at just the right angle so that James couldn't see anything that was going on behind it. Without a glance at them she began heading out of the Hospital Wing.

"Professor," James called as he hurried after her. "Professor, wait!"

"I need to fetch Professor Dumbledore," Professor McGonagall said stiffly without pausing.

"But Professor!" James practically shouted. Something in his voice must have resonated with Professor McGonagall because she paused in the doorway, looking back at him. James studied her face for a moment. Her features were lined with worry. "Is he… is Sirius…" He couldn't even complete his question.

McGonagall gave a tired glance at the curtains that surrounded Sirius' bed. "He is still alive, Mr. Potter," she said and James could feel a fraction of the tension in his chest release. "He will probably need to be transferred to St. Mungo's tonight for more extensive treatment. Now, I must go fetch Professor Dumbledore to tell him what's happened. Be prepared, Potter, he is going to want to talk with you boys to find out exactly what happened tonight." And with that she was gone.

James wasn't real sure how long he stood there frozen in place. Suddenly someone was leading him away from the door and back into the Hospital Wing.

"Sit down, Potter." James was slow to recognize Lily's voice. She led him over to sit on one of the vacant beds next to Remus. Peter sat on the far side of the bed, practically trembling. James tried to focus on Lily who stood in front of him. She was looking him over critically. "Are you hurt?"

James gave her a confused look. He looked down to access himself. He saw that his white dress shirt was stained with red. "No," he said flatly. "This isn't my blood."

"Are you sure?" Lily persisted carefully. "Your shirt is torn. There."

James looked to where she pointed. She was right; there was a slit in the fabric of his shirt with blood staining the edges. It was on the opposite side that he had supported Sirius on, so it wasn't near the rest of the blood stains. He pulled aside the fabric and sure enough he found that underneath his flesh was torn. He was suddenly aware of a dull stinging sensation that surrounded the wound.

"How did that happen?" he wondered vaguely. Somehow it seemed like his voice was detached from his body, almost as if it were coming from somewhere else altogether.

Remus looked over at him, his eyes clouded over. "I think that happened when you were climbing through the door at Honeydukes," he said quietly, sounding distant.

James remembered the glass shards that had stuck out from the door after he had broken it and how he had tried to knock them out as he made his way through the doorway to make it safer for Sirius to pass through. He supposed that it was plausible that he hadn't noticed running in to a shard himself. He had been too focused on Sirius.

"Here, take off your shirt," Lily said gently. James just stared at her. She had never been this kind to him before. After a minute when he didn't move Lily went on. "I can at least bandage it until Madam Pomfrey can look at it."

James silently fumbled with the buttons of his shirt. Under normal circumstances he would have had some kind of humorous comment for the fact that Lily Evans of all people wanted him to disrobe. But today his mind was disturbingly blank; his eyes straying back to the white curtain that hid their friend from them.

Up until now the entire Wing had been silent, even the other occupants seemed to dare not make a sound. But suddenly James heard a small sound. At first he wasn't sure if he had imagined it but then he heard it again a little louder, like a pained moaning noise. Then there was a horrifying screech that was quickly cut short. It was Sirius. James was on his feet in a second; fully intending on storming past that curtain to see what was going on behind it before Remus jumped up and grabbed his shoulder, stopping him in his tracks.

"No, James," Remus said, his voice gentle and sympathetic, though he had clearly been shook up by the sound just as much as James had. "Don't. Let Madam Pomfrey work."

"But…" James started, not even sure what his argument was going to be.

"There's nothing you can do," Remus reminded him. "You'll only be in the way. And I think we've all seen enough today."

James knew exactly what he meant. The images he had seen earlier were already going to cause him nightmares for weeks to come no matter how this turned out. No need to add to that for no good reason. James allowed Remus to lead him back to the bed where they were all gathered as they waited for news. James was hardly aware of Lily finishing unbuttoning his shirt and applying a bandage to his wound.

Suddenly the doors at the far end of the Wing flew open with a loud bang. They all whipped around to see Professor Dumbledore gliding in to the room, looking more serious and grim than they had ever seen him before. Without a second glance he swept right past the group of them and disappeared behind the curtain that hid Sirius' bed with Professor McGonagall following close behind him.

They were all silent; straining their ears to try and hear what was going on beyond that curtain. There were some muffled voices, but no one could make out what any of them were saying. Then everything got very quiet. The tension in the room grew. All eyes were on that curtain, waiting for something to happen as the minutes ticked by.

Suddenly all at once the curtain was swept aside and disappeared. James was on his feet again in a split second. But what was revealed was not what any of them had expected. The bed that Professor Dumbledore, Professor McGonagall and Madam Pomfrey were gathered around was empty.

James opened his mouth, but nothing came out.

"What happened?" came Remus' quiet voice sounding a little unsure. Slowly he stood up beside James. "Where's Sirius?"

Professor Dumbledore turned and focused on them for the first time. His features were unreadable. "Mr. Black has been transferred to St. Mungo's for further treatment." His voice was hauntingly even as he spoke. "I need to see you three boys in my office. Immediately." He made eye contact with James then Remus then Peter in turn before turning and practically gliding back out of the room.

His tone had left no room for argument. With a heavy heart and burdened soul, James turned away from the empty hospital bed and went to follow Professor Dumbledore. Peter was close behind him. Remus hesitated a moment, and when he did move he passed close by that hospital bed. Madam Pomfrey had begun to strip the sheets off of the bed, but not before Remus had seen that the white sheets were stained with a significant amount of blood. His stomach twisted uncomfortably as he turned his head, following James and Peter out of the Wing.

Lily stayed behind, watching the Marauders go. It was so strange to see all the Marauders so serious. It was a side the Marauders – of James Potter especially – that she had never seen before. It had been obvious how close the boys all were ever since their first year. But this was the first time that she had really gotten to see just how much they truly cared for each other. It was more than just an immature enjoyment for causing trouble around the castle that kept them together. It was a bond that clearly ran much deeper than that.

Lily turned to look at the now vacated bed that the broken Sirius Black had so recently occupied. She shuddered slightly at the idea that perhaps he wouldn't return to wreak havoc in the halls of Hogwarts. She took a deep breath and said a silent prayer for Sirius, not only for his sake but also for James, Remus and Peter's sakes as well. As she turned to go back to the first year that she had accompanied to the Hospital Wing earlier, she found herself sincerely hoping to see the mischievous Marauders whole and terrorizing the castle again one day soon.

Out in the corridor the Marauders were silent as they followed Professor Dumbledore to his office. There was no play shoving or races this time. The entire group was incredibly somber. The only sound was their muted footsteps on the stone floor.

Time was suddenly irrelevant. In what seemed like no time they had approached the entrance to Dumbledore's office. None of them even really heard when Dumbledore stated the password. They were all in a daze. They simply followed Dumbledore silently up the staircase. It might have been the longest time any of the Marauders had gone without speaking.

Up in his office Dumbledore immediately went to sit behind his desk. With a wave of his wand three chairs appeared opposite him. Then he calmly set his wand down on the desk in front of him and patiently waited.

Peter was the first to sit. He looked pale and shaky on his feet, liable to fall over at any moment. Remus followed a moment later, sitting heavily in the seat. James eyed the final empty seat. He was feeling too restless to sit. He was suddenly aware enough to realize that his shirt still hung open from when Lily had bandaged him up though. He hastily fumbled with the buttons as he shifted from foot to foot uneasily.

Dumbledore seemed to sense that this was about as comfortable as the Marauders were going to get. He leaned forward and laced his fingers together, looking at each boy individually. "Why don't you tell me what happened tonight."

It wasn't a question but James wasn't interested in taking orders right now. "Is Sirius going to be okay?" he demanded in a low voice, meeting Dumbledore's gaze with a hard gaze of his own. He was not going to tolerate anything other than a direct answer to this question.

Dumbledore looked at him almost as if he were sizing him up. James stood up straight and held his gaze. He wouldn't be treated like a child, not after everything they had been through that night.

Dumbledore sighed. "Mr. Black's injuries were not only severe but also… complicated. Many of his wounds were cursed to reopen when they were magically healed. This was causing significant blood loss. His condition was very serious when the decision to send him to St. Mungo's was made. However he is currently with the best Healers in the world. He is in good hands. I am optimistic for his recovery."

This didn't make any of the Marauders feel much better though. It still sounded like a very grim situation despite Professor Dumbledore's small attempt at assurance.

Remus leaned forward and rested his head in his hands. James reached out and placed a hand on his shoulder. He wasn't trying to give comfort but rather show his empathy. There would be no real comfort until they knew for sure their friend was going to be okay.

"I know this is difficult, boys," Dumbledore went on gently but firmly. "But I need to know what happened tonight."

James took a deep breath. Remus was clearly too emotional at the moment to speak. And Peter had never been good with words anyway. James knew that it was up to him to retell the events of that night. His voice was flat and had no inflections as he stated all the facts surrounding what had happened. He left nothing out of his story. He wasn't at all concerned about getting in trouble for breaking the rules and sneaking out of the castle that day. Something like a detention or a loss of House points seemed so incredibly trivial at this point.

Dumbledore listened to the story in mostly silence. He had some questions about the three wizards that they had come across, but James didn't have much information about them. Their hoods had been kept securely in place during the entire exchange so he really had no idea what they looked like.

By the time he finally finished his story he felt drained. He still couldn't bring himself to sit down though. Instead he placed his hands on the back of the empty chair and leaned on it heavily.

The silence consumed the room once again after James stopped talking. Remus hadn't moved, his head still resting in his hands, feeling completely numb. He could still vividly picture the full extent of Sirius' injuries. They had been far beyond his own rudimentary healing abilities. It had been so much worse than anything he himself had experienced during the full moon. His head was spinning. How had this happened? Just this afternoon everything had been perfectly normal and their biggest worry was keeping up with their schoolwork. Now one of their friends was fighting for his life. How had everything fallen apart so quickly?

Dumbledore seemed to focus on Remus. "Mr. Lupin?" he prompted, as if somehow sensing Remus' distress above the others at the moment.

Remus slowly looked up at the Headmaster. "What happened tonight, Professor?" he asked, his voice hoarse. "Why was Sirius attacked in Hogsmeade? Who is the Dark Lord?"

Suddenly Dumbledore's grim expression melted away to reveal a deep sadness. He carefully reached up and took his spectacles off, placing them on the desk in front of him as he rubbed his eyes with his other hand. As he looked back at the boys it had seemed that he had aged years in just those few moments.

"Tom Riddle," Dumbledore said quietly. "He was a student here years ago. He is a strong believer that Pureblooded wizards are superior to all others. Unfortunately this is not a terribly uncommon belief in our world. For years Tom had seemed harmless enough. But over the last couple months he has been gaining more and more support from others in the Wizarding World. Recently Tom and his Followers have become more… active. And they have become more violent. They target those that they believe are not worthy of magic. This mainly includes Muggleborns and half-blooded wizards. There have been several attacks over the last couple weeks that have been attributed to this self proclaimed Dark Lord, but so far the Ministry has failed to identify any of his Followers who may have committed these crimes."

There was a heavy silence following this explanation.

It was Peter who finally spoke up, his voice cracking. "But… Sirius is Pureblooded."

"Yes he is, Mr. Pettigrew," Dumbledore agreed rationally. "Mr. Black comes from a very prestigious and well-respected Pureblooded family. However as I understand it he is not on good terms with his family. I also understand that this is relatively common knowledge."

"Blood traitor," James mumbled, mostly to himself as the realization dawned on him.

Remus heard him. "He had the words blood traitor carved into one of his arms," he explained a little louder.

"Yes I did see that," Drumbledore said grimly. He paused and then went on carefully. "Mr. Black would be very recognizable to the kind of people that Tom Riddle would attract."

"So… he would be a target for them," Remus realized, horrified.

Suddenly out of nowhere James shoved the chair in front of him in a fit of rage, sending it tumbling to the floor. Everyone in the room jumped at this, even Professor Dumbledore. "Why weren't we told about this?" James demanded loudly. "If this has been going on for a while why didn't we know? Sirius was a walking target in Hogsmeade and none of us even knew it!"

There was a hint of pain in his voice that boarded on guilt. He felt like they had blindly walked Sirius into this very dangerous situation. He was harshly reevaluating every decision that he had made that day that had led them to this. If only he had insisted on going with Sirius to retrace his steps to search for his things. If only he hadn't even suggested that they go to Hogsmeade that day in the first place. If only…

Dumbledore sighed heavily. "I am sorry for that. The Ministry has been keeping a lot of what has been happening quiet. They don't want to start a panic. Most of what is known by the public is whispers and rumors."

"We had a right to know!" James insisted. "Everyone in Hogsmeade disappeared after dark, clearly something has been going right in our backyard and we had no idea!"

Dumbledore looked quite pained by this. "I suppose I was hoping that the Ministry would resolve this quickly. Clearly we have all underestimated Tom's true power though. And exactly how far he is willing to go in order to achieve his goals."

"I can't believe it," Remus mumbled brokenly. "I can't believe this happened."

"I can't believe that the Ministry hasn't stopped him yet," James interjected angrily.

"I am so sorry, boys," Dumbledore said sadly.

James sighed and with that it was like all of his remaining energy suddenly drained out of him. He nudged his glasses up onto the top of his head and then ran his hands over his face, pressing his palms into his tired eyes. He was becoming aware of a sharp stinging sensation in his side where the glass had cut him earlier that night.

Remus sat up straighter, a look of steely resolve suddenly in his eyes. When he spoke it was with the same authority that he had when talking with the hooded figures that had attacked Sirius in Hogsmeade.

"We need to go see Sirius. Tonight."


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter Three**

_Has little Sirius come out to play? All by himself? What a treat! _

_You are a traitor to your own kind. You must be made an example of. _

_**CRUCIO!**_

Sirius' eyes flew open in a panic as he desperately gasped for breath. He tried to sit up quickly but pain exploded in his chest. There was a flurry of motion around him with people talking loudly and he couldn't grasp what was happening to him. This made him panic even more.

"Sirius! Sirius, it's okay! _Padfoot_!"

One familiar voice cut through the chaos. He searched around him, finding the faces of the people trying to hold him down to be strange to him. Finally he spotted the source of the voice.

"James," he coughed.

James' eyes looked anxious behind his glasses. "Don't struggle; it'll only make it worse."

He had no idea what was going on but he took James at his word. With an effort he relaxed his muscles, allowing himself to sink back into the bed. As strangers fussed around him he attempted to take in more of his surroundings. It was a struggle though as his vision was growing fuzzy. White walls and red stained bandages came in and out of focus. The ceiling above him seemed to shift around strangely. Looking around only seemed to make him more disoriented.

Finally the strangers had calmed and stepped back to give him some space. There was some hushed conversation in the room and Sirius could feel himself slipping away into darkness. Even so he could hear quiet yet familiar voices filtering in through the impending void.

"S-Sirius?"

"Let's let him rest, Peter."

"I'll kill them. I'll find whoever did this to him and I'll kill them."

"Sit down, James. You're making me dizzy with all your pacing."

Sirius wanted to ask so many questions but the weight of the darkness was quickly pulling him under. Soon it consumed him and he knew no more.

* * *

><p>The hospital room was deathly quiet. James glanced over at Peter who was practically falling asleep in his chair. At this point it must be getting so late that it was early. The hospital staff had tried to send them back to school hours ago, but they had refused. They wouldn't be leaving Sirius' side any time soon.<p>

Remus had gotten a hold of a Daily Prophet and was distracting himself by carefully reading each article. Every few minutes he'd glance up at Sirius though, as if to assure himself that he was still with them.

James sat in a chair close to Sirius' bed. He leaned forward and rested his elbows on his knees, feeling jittery. It hadn't been an uneventful evening for any of them here in St. Mungo's. After seeing Madam Pomfrey heal wounds in minutes all these years it was disturbing to see that the white bandages wrapped around Sirius' chest and arms were still stained with red even after being under the more advanced Healers' care for hours.

The biggest problem the Healers had run into with Sirius' injuries was that the worst of the gashes had been cursed to reopen after being healed with magic. So they would heal his wounds only to have them rip themselves open again. At first Sirius would remain unconscious throughout this, but as the Blood Replenishing Potions they gave him began to take effect he would regain consciousness briefly as his body was torn apart again and again.

It was a horrific scene to witness. Remus was pale as he watched, murmuring something about his transformations under his breath. At one point Peter had to leave the room in order to be sick. James was silent and stoic as he witnessed the gruesome scenes over and over, never once looking away. He felt that he owed that to Sirius.

The Healers tried to break the curse many different ways but each time they thought that they had been successful they would try to heal him and find that anything they tried hadn't worked. It was only within the last hour that they discovered the curse was finally wearing off on its own. The last time they had attempted to heal him the wounds hadn't opened nearly as badly as they had before. As he was now no longer in immediate danger of significant blood loss they had simply bandaged his wounds and then left him to rest.

He didn't seem to rest though. Even though he remained unconscious his muscles would sporadically tense which caused quiet gasps of pain. He was deathly pale and his breathing was labored. And all James could do was look on gravely, feeling helpless.

The sound of the rustling paper caused his gaze to stray to Remus. He was carefully folding up the Daily Prophet before he laid it on the floor by his feet. James studied him carefully, noting how worn his friend looked, a deadened look in his eye.

"Anything interesting in there?" James asked, mostly because the silence was starting to get to him.

Remus sighed. "There were a few small articles in the back that mentioned the name Tom Riddle as suspected in connection to some disappearances, " he told him. "But his name was mostly just used in passing. The more that I read them the more his name seemed familiar, like I had seen it before. But the articles seem so minor that the name hardly seems worth even remembering."

James shook his head in disgust as he leaned back and crossed his arms over his chest. "I can't believe the Ministry can even try to cover up something like this."

Remus shifted uncomfortably in his seat as he glanced over at where Sirius lay. He lowered his voice as he spoke. "Do you… do you think _he_ knew?"

James was quiet as he carefully considered this. The thought had already crossed his mind several times that night. It was hard to imagine that Sirius wouldn't know what was going on considering his home life. But if he had known then why wouldn't he have told them?

His eyes wandered back to Sirius' still form. He was so deep in thought that he didn't immediately notice the change in his friend's appearance. It wasn't until Remus was on his feet that James realized that Sirius' eyes were open, staring up at the ceiling. His heart jumped up into his throat as he was suddenly on his feet. The commotion roused Peter and he quickly joined the group as well.

"Sirius," James said. Their friend let out a low groan in response. "Stay still, okay? Don't try to move." James eyed Sirius' bandages wearily, but thankfully it seemed his wounds weren't getting any worse for now.

"How do you feel?" Remus asked.

Sirius took in a rattling breath. "Like I've been hit by the Knight Bus." His voice was weak and raspy, but at least he was talking to them.

"You might have been better off if you had," Peter pointed with a nervous laugh.

"Wormtail's right," James said, doing his best to smile despite the circumstances. "You look bloody awful, mate. You'd think all that beauty sleep would have done you more good."

Sirius let out a cough that he may have meant to be a laugh. Slowly and carefully he turned his head to look up at his friends. "What happened? Where are we?"

James and Remus exchanged uncomfortable glances. Was it possible that he wouldn't remember what happened?

"We're in St. Mungo's," Remus said slowly, answering the easier question first.

Sirius' eyes slid closed but a smile was playing on his lips. "Why? Wormtail fall down the stairs again?"

They chucked nervously at Sirius' attempt at a joke. It was hard to feel lighthearted though considering everything they had witnessed that night.

"We went to Hogsmeade last night," James told him, eyeing him carefully for some kind of reaction. "Do you remember anything about that?"

Sirius opened his eyes and looked up at him, looking a bit lost for a moment. But then slowly realization seemed to be creeping in to Sirius' stormy eyes. They could almost see him remembering each of the events of that night as they unfolded in his mind's eye. After a minute of silence he closed his eyes again as if in pain. Out of habit James checked Sirius' bandages, but they remained the same. This was not a physical pain.

He remembered.

"Do you know who it was that attacked you?" Remus asked carefully.

Sirius' eyes remained closed but inexplicably a smirk crossed his lips. James stared down at him, wondering if all the blood loss had caused some sort of delirium. Didn't he understand how serious this was?

"Yes, I believe my dear cousin was paying a visit," Sirius rasped lightly.

"Your cousin?" Peter said in disbelief. "Your own family did this to you?"

Sirius opened his eyes as he looked over at them. "Not everybody's mothers bake cookies and tuck their kids into bed at night," Sirius pointed out dryly. "My family isn't exactly warm and fuzzy, Peter."

James' legs felt weak as he suddenly sat down heavily in the chair next to the bed. At the noise he drew Sirius' gaze. His eyes were clouded and James couldn't tell what he was thinking or feeling about the events of that day. He found that disturbing.

"How long have you known?" James asked quietly.

"Known what, Prongs?" He said the phrase so casually, as if inquiring about their latest Potions assignment.

That only made James angry and he glared at his bedridden friend he spoke with more force than he had meant to. "That you were a _walking target_ in Hogsmeade last night."

"My family has never been very fond of me," Sirius said, looking up at him with a bit of confusion. "You know that by now."

"There's not being fond of someone and then there's _this_." James made a motion to encompass Sirius' current state. "And you don't even seem fazed by any of this."

"I know my family," Sirius said flatly. "I know what they are capable of."

There was a heavy silence that followed this statement.

"Have you heard of a man named Tom Riddle?" Remus asked slowly after a minute.

Sirius' eyes snapped over to Remus at the sound of the name. He paused. "I've heard of him," he said guardedly.

"Well you should have said something," James snapped. "If we had known what was going on then we never would have left Hogwarts in the first place."

"James," Remus said warningly, placing a hand on his shoulder.

"You think I _knew_ what was going to happen?" Sirius snapped back, anger in his voice. He suddenly shifted as if he were going to sit up but then grimaced and yelped at the pain that it caused as he fell back onto the bed. A fresh blood stain was suddenly creeping along the white bandage on his chest.

"He's bleeding again," Remus said quickly, tension in his voice. "Peter, go fetch a Healer."

Peter had disappeared before Remus even finished his request. They had witnessed this too many times to take the sight of blood lightly, no matter how small it seemed at first. It looked to be a valid concern too as the blood continued steadily spreading as it stained the stark white bandages.

Sirius looked down at himself in confusion and there was a hint of panic in his eyes. "What…?"

It went against everything they knew about magical healing for his wounds to still be bleeding. And yet, here they were.

"Stay still," James urged as Sirius tried to move his bandaged arms toward his chest. "Some of your wounds have been cursed to keep reopening, even after being healed with magic. It had been finally wearing off a bit, but it's still clearly having an effect."

Sirius groaned before stringing together some pretty vulgar profanity. He was still cursing when Peter returned with a Healer in tow. The man didn't seem at all fazed by anything coming out of Sirius' mouth as he immediately focused on the task at hand. Carefully he began peeling back the bandages that covered Sirius' chest.

"The good news is it doesn't look much worse than it did before," the Healer said.

James took a step closer to get a better look. There had been several gashes on Sirius' chest before, but at this point most of them had healed and were already beginning to fade. There was only one left still worth concern, a long and angry wound that stretched from Sirius' left shoulder almost all the way down to his right hip. This was the wound that had opened up again with Sirius' movements and was now leaking blood.

"I take it there's some bad news though," Sirius prompted, his voice tight.

"We need to try and close this wound again," the Healer told him. "The curse has been wearing off, but there is still a risk that the healing won't be completely successful."

"Well do something," Sirius said through gritted teeth.

James looked down at his friend sympathetically. He had already endured so much pain that night. More pain than James could even begin to imagine. And for what? None of this made any sense.

"Keep as still as you can," the Healer instructed as he drew his wand.

James, Remus and Peter had all watched this process several times over the course of the night, so they knew what to expect. They knew that it was going to get worse before it got better. This would be first time Sirius was conscious through the whole thing. James moved closer, sliding between the Healer and the wall in order to reach forward and place a hand on Sirius' shoulder. Remus moved around to the other side of the bed so that he could reach out and do the same. Peter gripped the rail on the side of Sirius' bed, seeming to brace himself.

As the Healer held his wand above Sirius' wound he quietly began to chant an incantation. A warm glow radiated from his wand. For a moment nothing happened. Then very suddenly Sirius cried out briefly before clamping his jaw down quickly to cut off the noise. All his muscles tensed as suddenly the wound seemed to open like a zipper, spilling blood across his chest.

"Easy, Padfoot," James tried, though the sight made him physically ill. He felt pressure pushing up on his hand and he shifted his weight, keeping Sirius down. "It'll be over in a minute. Just breathe, mate."

Just because they had seen this before didn't make it any easier. In fact with Sirius being awake it just made this that much worse. Clenching his jaw, Sirius raised his free hand and grasped Remus' forearm tightly. James tightened his grip on Sirius' shoulder, trying to provide some kind of support. Peter was staring determinedly down around Sirius' knees and was gripping the rail so tightly his knuckles had turned white.

Watching Sirius' features contort in pain, it seemed to take so much longer than it had before. However in actuality it was probably the quickest he had begun healing all night. After several long minutes the wound slowly began stitching back up before their eyes.

Finally the light from the Healer's wand went dull. Sirius gasped for breath as his pain suddenly eased. The relief in the room was practically tangible. James studied the wound. There were times throughout the night when after the Healers had done all they could do the gash was still gushing blood. Each time it had gotten a little better though. Now the skin had at least stitched back together – if only barely – and had ceased bleeding. That was a bit encouraging.

"I need you to keep still, Mr. Black," the Healer told him as he re-bandaged Sirius' wounds with another wave of his wand. "Any movement could agitate this injury and cause it to open up again. Here, drink this." A vial of potion was suddenly in his hands, one they could all recognize by now as the Blood Replenishing Potion. After Sirius had swallowed the liquid, the Healer's eyes wandered to the boys who surrounded his patient's bed. "You boys really should go back to school. Mr. Black is stable but he needs his rest."

James met the Healer's gaze with a hard stare. They had already had this argument with several other Healers throughout the night. He hadn't lost yet and he didn't plan to now. "We will not leave his side," he said firmly, his gaze daring the Healer to try and tell him otherwise.

The Healer sighed resignedly as he straightened up, having finished his work. Thankfully it seemed that he wasn't going to be one of the ones who fought them on this. "If you insist on staying, just make sure you don't interfere with his rest." With nods of agreement from each of the Marauders – save for the bedridden one – he turned and walked out of the room.

"Not much for the sight of blood there, are you Peter?" Sirius rasped, a ghost of a smile playing at his lips. Clearly he was trying to take the focus off of the pain he had to endure. That had always been his defense mechanism. And perhaps it was why they had been so blind to what was really going on. Had he had more energy he probably would have gone on to make a joke out of his comment, but the healing process seemed to have taken a lot out of him. His breathing was still a bit labored and there was sweat on his brow from the whole ordeal.

Peter gave a nervous laugh. He looked almost as pale as Sirius did. "I'll be alright."

Sirius mumbled another comment, but it came out unintelligible. He blinked slowly, clearly beginning to drift off even as he fought to stay awake.

"You heard the Healer, Padfoot," Remus reminded him. "Get some rest, okay?"

"They tell my parents?" Sirius murmured. "About all this?" There was something strange in his tone.

James didn't really know what to make of this inquiry. He wasn't sure why Sirius would even care about that right now. "Yeah, one of the Healers said they were notified when you were brought in," James explained carefully. "That was hours ago though. We haven't heard anything from them all night."

Sirius snorted as his eyes slid closed. "I wouldn't expect you to."

They all waited for Sirius to fall back asleep before any of them dared to move. It didn't take too long before his breathing evened out and his muscles relaxed. He seemed more peaceful than he had all night. It was somewhat of a relief.

They all collapsed into chairs around Sirius' bed, all feeling exhausted. It was nearing morning at this point and there had been no rest for them that night.

"At least he's finally getting better," Peter spoke up dismally. "Once he's better then we can all go back to school and everything can go back to normal."

"I wouldn't hold your breath on that, Peter," James said flatly. He looked at Sirius. He had been attacked so close to school. And the woman's quip about telling Dumbledore that the Dark Lord said hello echoed in his mind. This was supposed to be a message, he realized. "Something tells me this is only the beginning."


End file.
